Analysis: Ukraine crisis gives Kamala Harris a new role

WARSAW, Poland — It was partly coincidence that Vice President Kamala Harris was in Poland, meeting with leaders and speaking with refugees on Thursday, the same day that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had roughly the same itinerary here.

But it’s also an indication that she had arrived near the center of a crisis that is absorbing the world’s attention.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turned Harris, a relative rookie in foreign affairs, into one of the administration’s leading diplomatic faces during its most dangerous foreign crisis.

Last month, as Russian troops menacingly surrounded Ukraine’s borders, Harris met with European allies and Ukrainian President Volodymyr